Pleasing the Pastor

Rick Warren is supposed to be the newfangled face of American megachurch.

His Saddleback Church congregation, at 22,000, goes beyond mere conservative evangelism, so we are told. He's urged the flock into issues of environmentalism and aiding the poor as well as the usual abortion and defense of marriage. His best-seller "The Purpose Driven Life" has revved up the notion of volunteerism and grass roots action among the congregants.

Still, the big guy with longish "mod" hair, Van Dyke beard and sportscoat sans the tie looks has an uncanny resemblance to a youngish Jerry Falwell.

And what is there about this guy that attracts both presidential candidates to his megachurch on an August Saturday night, in a setting simulcast on CNN where he in effect becomes the TV moderator to boot?

For John McCain, it's a stop that's better than the grocery stores where he's been stumping for dozens. But for Barack Obama, it jolts to an end his weeklong family vacation in Hawaii.

Major news anchors can't summon the two men together for more than a few debates this fall. What kind of juice does Warren have to bring them both together, in separate interview sessions, confronting the same roster of questions (well, McCain got more because he was so succinct)?

Evangelicals are not 100 percent sold on McCain, we're told, though I can't imagine why. He talked like he'd mow down the pro-Roe Supreme Court and pack it full of Right to Lifers immediately after he'd tracked down bin Laden to the gates of hell.

For all the talk about his oratory skills, Obama was actually a tad duller, in part because he brings a measured quality and thoughtfulness to his replies. He also says "um" a lot.

McCain, whose experience in these situations certainly shows, goes for the applause line and glib joke response. People generally like him in these types of situations, and the Saddlebackers loved him

At the same time, they were respectful of Obama and possibly a tad awed by his celebrity. The social conservatives clapped when he said marriage was defined as a contract between a man and a woman, but there were a few that applauded his defense of civil unions and the rights of gay people as well (indicating the church is big enough to hold opposing views). No such concession for gays in McCain's remarks.Still, both men were overly eager to please, dropped some personal stories of Christian guideposts, name-dropped Warren's best-seller and, like their host, declined to wear a tie.

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1 Comments

Here’s how it actually went: this has NOT been reported in print yet: why not?

Warren actually invited both candidates to come and talk with him.

Each candidate received one hour with Warren where he asked them some interview questions. It sounded like he (Warren) provided the questions to the candidates before hand.

(Obama commented that he “cheated” and researched one of the questions Warren posed to him, so that is where I’m getting that assumption.)

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Roger Catlin is TV critic for the Hartford Courant and writes a daily column about what's on television called TV Eye. He is also on the board of the Television Critics Association. Before all of this, he was rock critic ... read more